Special Interest Tourism Phenomenon - Essay Example

Special Interest Tourism Task 1. How might it be termed special interest Link your discussion to a number of standard definitions of Special interest tourism and "Dark Tourism" as an example e.g. Poon (1997) Special Interest tourism serves specific purposes of the tourist. According to Douglas, Douglas and Derrett (2001), Special Interest Tourism 'offers provision of customised leisure and recreational experiences driven by the specific expressed interests of individuals and groups'. It is looked at as the tourism undertaken with a specific reason behind it. Poon (1997, pp47) says that these special interest tourisms are 'large scale packaging of non-standardised leisure services at competitive prices to suit demands of tourists as well as the economic and socio-environmental needs of the destination'. Dark Tourism, on the other hand, is the tourism to sites of tragedy, says John Lennon (2005). Human beings have a liking to travel to places of tragedy where they come close to death knowing fully well that they are far away from whatever that was causing it. This according to Lennon (2005), happens because of a mix of reverence, voyeurism or may be a thrill of coming into close proximity with death. In addition to this, special interest would also include sports, mountaineering, technology interests and very other specific interest zones which one might not find in the course of normal tourism. Dark tourism is a specific case of special interest tourism. Special Interest Tourism caters to the needs of specific groups. According to Douglas et al (2001), it normally starts with the individual. When the individual is interested in a specific topic, she tends to start off a group interested in the special zones. The senior tourism that is also one of the special interest tourisms is specifically made for the seniors and their interests. This tourism might be to places of pilgrimage and then of course, those places that are related to their childhood and growth. Every kind of special interest tourism has relevance to the person concerned. Therefore, the reason behind special interest tourism is identifiable and the flow of tourists is also predictable to a great extent. Special interest tourism on Music is a common liking in Europe. Many English who are interested in music take on such a tour to visit all those historic sites of music and try to relive the glorious days of the yore. A similar thing happens with art, adventure or many such sports. Special Interest Tourism, says Tsartas et al (2005), is really a marketing segmentation created by the travel industry to highlight specific selling points. Secondly, this Special Interest Tourism is also aimed at providing the best possible service to the tourists. The satisfaction gained by the tourists is particularly better with Special Interest Tourism because of the reason that the groups of people will be having related targets and their requirements will be in line with the needs of the others in the group. All this would help the organiser to provide better service and at the end ensure that the individual tourist is happier. This 'satisfaction' also arises from the fact that every tourist has a purpose behind the visit that he or she makes. If the person has to get back satisfied then this interest has to be identified and has to be catered to. Most of the tours therefore, once the specific interest is identified, become a special interest tour meeting the needs of the specific tourist or group. This makes almost all the tours that are conducted as something 'special' and there could always be areas that need to be taken care of. This brings into focus the need for further research in this segment and the need to work more on this to understand and appreciate the need for the special interest tours, particularly, in the case of small businesses (Page et al, 1999). 2. How according to Douglas(2001) might Dark Tourism be described as being complex Douglas et al (2001) assert that dark tourism is a complex interaction of multiple emotions and feelings. In line with Lennon's (2005) assertions that dark tourism is a mix of multiple feeling, Douglas also looks at the reason behind the dark tourism as something driven by a complex set of emotions. It evokes a response that is away from the normal tourist interest. There are reasons why people visit Hiroshima or Nagasaki and the shores of Thailand that were ravaged by Tsunami as much as wanting to see Chernobyl and empathise with the victims of the grand disaster. Disasters and large scale massacres have their own 'attraction' as much as the successes do. The same is reflected by Courtney C Reed (2007) who liberally quotes from Philip Stone on the reasons for the dark tourism. There is no single reason for Dark Tourism, according to Philip Stone, however, there are some basic reasons why people really visit them. Their own mortality, penance, education, a need to learn history and in some cases, it is the enjoyment derived from other people's sufferings. All these motivate the people to dark tourism. Therefore, there is no single reason for the tourism to develop. This naturally makes it complex. There is no single requirement which could make the tourists be satisfied. There are a number of factors that seem to be driving the people to Dark Tourism. For instance, people visiting Chernobyl were analysed. Stephanie Yuill (Dec 2003) says, it is exactly like people slowing down at a road accident to see what is happening. There is a fascination in death and destruction which attracts people to visit the site. There is more to Chernobyl visit than just that. It also marks the end of an era of cold war and an open declaration of the damages and effects of the accident. There are people who visit the site out of pure scientific and technological intent. In order to know how much of damage a blasted nuclear reactor could cause and to what extent this damage could affect the people and the ecology lived in. There are also the people who look at the nature of environmental disaster it causes; a study from the perspective of environment alone. There are also cases where people would like to know the extent of disaster, death and suffering of others. It is true that human beings also like to watch the others suffer; sadism may be. Some do visit it because they have lost their dear ones during the catastrophe. These are some of the reasons that people visit Chernobyl for. At every location across the world, dark spots or black spots on the tourist maps attract people to itself because of such similar reasons. Whether Auschwitz or Chernobyl, the visit leaves one disastrously laid back and also proves the true power of death and destruction as the great equaliser. Dark Tourism therefore, is the offshoot of a complex psychological need of man. This becomes a pilgrimage in some cases; in others it becomes a heart's desire. Dark Tourism does not have clear reason behind it. But for all these reasons people would like to visit those places and see for themselves the sufferings of the people. This happens still at Pompei or at Hiroshima. The Dark Tourism would continue to exist whether it is promoted or not. 3. Identify the reasons for the growth of Dark tourism. Link your discussion to factors such as trends in consumer behaviour and tourism industry's search for competitive advantage Dark tourism has been growing with information flowing across the world. While the old sites like Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chernobyl or the apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, the new ones are coming up with rapidity. The Ground Zero or the London bombing points; all form the centre of Dark tourism and it is growing at a faster rate. With more and more people visiting these centres of sorrow, there is a growing resentment among the locals; at the same time the places are also getting worn out swiftly with the tourists using up the resources. In order to ensure that these points continue to exist with out destruction it is needed that the psychology behind the visits are fully understood and the growth in tourist influx is more closely controlled. Dark Tourism has been growing in all the places across the world. With the increase in the communication channels, the 'darkness' of every one of the incident is made known to every corner of the world within minutes. The morbidity of the event is flashed across the television set which glues the people to the screens; many of them wanting to see the place if only they could afford it both financially and on time. Dark Tourism according to Lennon (2005) is not something new. Even from the very early days, pilgrimages to tombs of the dead were a regular event in many civilisations. There were also days which were marked out for regular visits every year for those who are dead. It could also be a case of visiting sites of war or places where mass burials or massacres occurred. In all these cases, on most of the occasions, it was not the case of people visiting place for morbid interest. It was more out of the feeling that one of their kith or kin has failed to survive the scare and they would like to pay homage to them. John Lennon (2005) says that there is hardly anything that a tourist might gain in a two and a half hour tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau. The sprawling campus is too difficult to decipher with in such a short span of time. Normally, such dark tourism is made to promote the history on a selective basis. There is no monument for the large scale massacre of the American Indians or the Roma and Sinti Holocaust. It is not the real history of the place that is given to the visitors. It is really a one-sided distorted picture of the place and what is expected that is given to the visitor. A visitor is lured or attracted to make the visit to the place. It is made with a purpose to promote visitation to the location rather than to give a true picture of the history. According to Naisbitt (1990), the society is characterised by the new respect for the individual. This has pushed the mass movement back almost making them a misnomer. Therefore, almost all the marketing efforts and the movements are not mass centred any more. Instead they are all centred round the individual. Individuals needs have to be analysed and addressed in order to make them more interested in the work. The same way, it is also essential for the individuals needs to be satisfied to have him happy and the tourist industry to grow. This tendency to meet the individual needs have made the researchers to work on the reasons behind the making of the dark tourism and the motivating factors of the entire work. This however, did not, in many cases, take care of the people who are the locals in the place. The disturbance that the tourism causes the location and the effect on the ecology is ignored in many cases. Since the tourism to the location was not a planned one or it was not due to any positive reasons of the location, the local residents might have aversion to people visiting them to see them as they were during the trouble. In spite of this negative aspect the dark tourism is growing at a phenomenal pace. The dark stages of history are enacted in the dark tourism; where death and sufferings of the other human beings remains the major motivator. 4. Who has the responsibility for providing this particular type of product or service and to whom The tours to such locations can be provided only through governmental support and local governments and safety agencies need to ensure that the right kind of tour operators are given the rights to organise such tours. Since most of the locations marked for dark tourism is of social, cultural and ethnic or other such interest areas, it is important that the government enhances both the safety to the locale and to the visiting tourists before conceding their demands to visit the places of interest. The primary responsibility for offering the location for tourist visit will lie with the local body that is in charge of the location. It is the responsibility of the tour operators subsequently, who package the tour with the right kind of 'ingredients' to make it interesting and meet the purpose of the tourist. This would make the tour operator responsible to the extent of ensuring the safety of the visiting tourist as well as the locations that get visited. This would include the environmental safety as well as personnel safety in the dark spot. In case of Chernobyl, the tour operators ensure that even the dress and the shoes that they use match the standards specified for visit to such places. They also ensure that the people measure the radiation in the places that they visit and make sure that they are safe after the visit. This is adopted by most of the tour operators. Of course, it is the tour operators who are responsible to offer such tours and visits to the interested public. It is also the tour operator's responsibility to ensure that the visitors do not unduly affect the working of the local people and do not affect the environment or culture of the locale. It is also the responsibility of the tour operator to ensure that all this is done along with the satisfaction of the visitors which has to be achieved to ensure growth of their business. The tour operators owe this responsibility to both the people of the tourist spot as well as to the visitors. 5. Thinking about "Dark tourism in general and tours to Chernobyl as an example -Is there a link to sustainable development here If so how Dark tourism, whether at Chernobyl or at other places is triggered by the desire to see the sites of tragedy; to see the places where wars have been fought and people have died in large numbers. This psychological inclination to see the places where mankind had suffered huge losses in its fight against survival makes the visitors feel both a pang and the success in some cases where the deaths might have resulted in a success, like the Battle of Waterloo. As long as this psychological inclination is present in human beings, they will be visiting the sites of Dark Tourism. This means that there is a possibility of consistent and sustained growth possible in this area of tourism. Specific promotional work might be required to ensure that this market is tapped appropriately. In case of the sustainable development at these locations where such tragedies have occurred, they have already affected the environment badly and there is a possibility of the damage continuing to exist. This would be a lesson for the people to understand the importance of the sustainable development. Efforts taken should be in line with the five principles of sustainable development as proposed by the UK government. Living within the environmental limits, ensuring a strong and healthy society, achieving a sustainable economy, using sound science responsibly and Promoting good governance all form the basis of sustainable development. Tourism by default does not affect the sustainable development much though the visits do cause disturbances in the environment which could result in such happenings. In order to control such incidences and impacts that tourism might have on the sustainable development, the tour operators and the government of the destination. The link between sustainable developments is present. However, the impact is in two ways. One, by educating the public on the effects of such happenings as that of Chernobyl, dark tourism is educative. And it spreads the message clearly. While the first reason is a positive effect on the sustainable development, the second reason is not so. It is the effect of such tourism on the location which is already ecologically degenerated because of radio activity. Tourism is bound to cause further damage to the environment. Therefore, it is important that dark tourism when it is organised should ensure that it is tilted towards the educational perspective. This way it works towards sustainable development. In addition, it should also be organised in very limited numbers so as not to damage the location further. The dark tourism would contribute to the economic development of the community resulting in an overall community development of the region. However, in many cases, this community development is not monitored appropriately, resulting in degradation of the community by destroying their culture as well as the local ecological stability. The authenticity of the tours however, is a major requirement for many of the tourists. It is one of the important exercises that most of the people ensure before they undertake a tour. Authenticity of the locations that they visit and the coverage they get is a prime concern for tourists. Task 2 1. Craik(1995) Opperman (1999) and Douglas (2001) suggest that there are some general management issues facing all SIT operators. How these relevant to your company Some of the major issues faced by the tourist operators for the special interest tourism include the following (Cockerell 1999): 1. The interest of the group needs to be studied carefully and the reasons for their visits should be clearly judged. In case of dark tourism, this is not very clear and is ambiguous. Therefore, giving complete satisfaction to the person visiting will become questionable. In order to ensure that this issue is sorted out, it is important that all the interests and the reasons for such visits are clearly analysed and researched. And the people who are visiting should also be individually identified based on their reasons for visit. 2. The destination which has possibly suffered the holocaust or the natural disaster would also have to face the onslaught of the tourists now. In many cases, the people who have gone through the suffering might like to be left alone. The local population might have a different approach to the entire visit by the tourists. The tourist operators should ensure that the people in the destination are not entirely anti to the visit. And that they would provide reasonable quantum of information for people to visit them. 3. The ecological impact of the visitors to the place of the disaster has to be noticed too. On one side, there could be an impact because of the visitors getting too close to the happenings. On the other side, the affected ecological scenario could also affect the people who are visiting. Both the issues need to be addressed. Neither the ecological balance that might have set in after the disaster should be disturbed, nor should the consequences or reminiscences of the disaster affect the people who are touring the place. 4. Cultural impact of tourism is widely known. In the course of a visit by tourists and that too repeatedly to the same destination, from a specific country and culture would also adversely affect the culture of the destination. The impact of the destination culture on the visiting tourists has been found to be minimal whereas the impact of the visiting tourists and their life style on the local populace is high. It is in many cases, impossible for the local population to emulate the visitors. 5. Satisfaction of the tourists at the end of the program becomes an enigma under several conditions. This stems from the reason, as indicated by Douglas et al. (2001), that Dark Tourism is a complex psychological phenomenon. This can be offset only with clear planning and understanding of the individual tourist needs. Every tourist operator working in the sphere of Dark Tourism need to have their own methods of collecting information. In case of Chernobyl interest of people visiting from a simple need to see the place to a scientific research. There are also people who would like to see the death and destruction rather than the steps taken to counter the disaster. In the case of the company under reckoning, Solo East Travel, their tours to Chernobyl comes under Dark Tourism. The issues are tackled as follows: 1. The individual interest is captured even during the promotion. The requirements are captured only to a limited extent. In order to counter this situation, the actions that are taken and the exact places of visit and what is expected to be seen is also put under focus. This would ensure that the person who is joining the tour will not be making any undue assumptions about what he or she might get from the tour. 2. The destination has been seeing many visitors after the disaster. The people who are visiting are limited in their scope of visit. The official commitment is to ensure that the tourist is taken as close as 100 metres to the power house. There is no commitment from the operator to take the visitor close to the reactor or near the accident scene. However, there is a commitment to take the tourist to the ghost town of Pripyat. The commitments are made clearly to the people who are visiting the destination. This would ensure that the people who are visiting are clear about what they see. The company also informs the visitors that they might not be able to see the residents always and might not be able to get first hand comments from them. Though on many occasions, the tourists are allowed to meet the people and take their direct opinions and event recount. All this makes the tour more attractive and also ensures that the visitor is clear about what to expect from the tour. 3. The visit of the tourist has very limited ecological impact in this case. It is the environment that is possibly polluted with radiation and the tourist needs to safeguard himself from the polluted environment thus created. Tourists are protected during the course of their visit by not allowing them beyond a specified limit and similarly not allowing access to the interiors of the reactor where the accident really took place. 4. The visitors bring in a different kind of culture to Chernobyl. This naturally brings up the issue of the local populace getting affected by the visiting tourists. Since there is a regular influx of the tourists, they also bring in a new cultural outlook; the visitors are seen as people who are more liberated and capable of larger things. This in turn, encourages the local people to behave like them and emulate the western culture. Culture isolation and the local culture itself would be vanishing over a period of time. Though this is not specific to special or dark tourism, this is also an occurrence because of tourism. 5. Satisfaction of the tourists visiting the site would depend on the expectations of the individual traveller. Every one of the tourist visiting the location has their own objective for the program. As already indicated, their requirements should be appropriately measured and laid out. This understanding of their requirements should also be discussed with the tourists themselves to ensure that the requirements are correctly identified. 2. How is the product being managed and by whom Chernobyl and other dark tours have similar problems in managing. The tours generally evoke strong sentiments and it takes time for people to get settled to the visitors who come to see destruction. People do not accept such changes always. Though Chernobyl has developed into a major tourist attraction in spite of the unknown danger lurking under the concrete shroud, the Three Mile Island has not become such a large scale tourist spot. The tour operators in Ukraine have played a key role in getting the site marketed. This has increased the tourist influx into Ukraine. This could be achieved only because of the confirmed management of the Dark Tours. Most of the people would not visit a place if there is any doubt on the personal safety. The dangers may attract people but not a danger on the personal self. The tour operators tidied over the problem by having appropriate clothing, dosimeters to check the individual radioactive exposure and other controlling measures are transparent. Dark Tourism needs to be managed properly to ensure that the tourists are not at risk and the place should also have an open mind to be seen and judged. Dark Tourism is being managed by two major players in the tourism business. It benefits two other stake holders, namely the people living in the location of interest and the visiting tourist whose needs are satisfied. The other two major stake holders who play an important role in managing the tourism are the tour operators and the government. The government plays an important role by deciding on the conditions and rules that bind every visit to the location of interest. In the case of Chernobyl, Government and government agencies specify that the visitors should not be allowed beyond the one hundred metres line marking from the disastrous reactor. Government also specifies what type of clothing they were including the shoes and these shoes and clothing are all supplied to the visiting tourists when they land up in Kiev to visit the location. The tour operators on the other hand work on promoting the product within the constraints set by the government. While the government and its rules control the way tourists and the tour operators' work, the tour operators ensure that there is steady stream of visitors to the site by promoting the dark tourism to the world. These are the people who by appropriate promotional strategies ensure that there is sustained interest in the tour packaged by them. In addition to this, the tour operators are also responsible and manage the entire tour from its inception to its end by coordinating with the rest of the people, including the air travel operators, hotels and local sightseeing coordinators. All this would ensure that the tour is well managed and well organised. References 1. Cockerell N (1999) Short-term Trends and key Issues in the Tourism Industry. Travel Research Analyst Vol 6, pp 65-79. 2. Courtney C Reed (2007) Dark Tourism. ValleyAdvocate.com available at: http://www.ctnow.com/custom/nmm/valleyadvocate/hce-vla-0517-va21travel21.artmay17,0,3713767.story 3. Douglas, Norman; Douglas, Ngaire and Derret, Ros (eds) (2001) Special Interest Tourism : Context And Cases, Wiley: Brisbane. 4. Ausubel JH (1992) Chernobyl after Perestroika. Technology in Society Vol.14, pp 187-198. 5. John Lennon (2005) Journeys into understanding. The Observer: London. 6. Naisbitt, John and Patricia Aburdene (1990) Megatrends 2000. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York. 7. Page SJ, Forer P, Lawton GR (1999) Small Business Development and Tourism: Terra Incognita Tourism Management, Vol.20, No.4, pp 435 - 459. 8. Poon A (1997) Tourism, Technology and Competitive Strategies. CABI, Wallinford, UK. 9. Stear, L. (1994) "Special Interest Tourism": Publications in Review. Annals of Tourism Research Vol.22 No.1, pp 238-40. 10. Stephanie M Yuill (Dec 2003) Dark Tourism: Understanding Visitor Motivation at Sites of Death and Disaster. Texas A& M University. 11. Tsartas P, Lagos D, Kaldis P, Goumas A (2005) Special Interest Tourism: Researching and Teaching a "New" product of the Tourism Market. EuroCHRIE 2005 International Conference, Proc. Of., Oct 26 - 28, 2005, Paris. Read More